Truth
by ArwenLalaith
Summary: Tag to 'Compromising Positions'. His heart stopped when she suggested confronting the unsub alone. He nearly died when the unsub aimed at their babies. Now, he needed to make her see that she couldn't keep going like this. Co-written with Confetti Leaves
1. Chapter 1

The sun was hanging high in the Ohio skies as the black SUV made its way across town, heading for the airstrip where the passengers inside were getting ready to return home after closing the latest case. Morgan took off his sunglasses when he stopped at the red light and turned to look at the brunette sitting silently beside him.

She stared distantly out of the windows; she was physically there, but her mind were miles away. He reached over to hold her hand, interlacing their fingers and squeezing gently, letting her know that she was not alone.

The contact brought her back and she turned to look at their joined hands. She returned the pressure, meeting his eyes, and attempted a smile but it was faint and didn't quite reach her eyes. She sighed heavily, leaning her forehead on the cool pane of the glass window.

Knowing that this was the only alone time they would have until they returned home, he pulled over to the side of the road after he made sure that they had time – the jet would only be ready for take-off in a little more than an hour. He reached over to gently turn her head to face him, so he could look deeply into her eyes. "Talk to me, Em," he murmured softly, caressing her cheeks as ifhoping to soothe her pain. "Tell me what's on your mind."

Emily leaned into his touch, sighing softly as she nuzzled his hand. "I'm fine," she said quietly after a moment, "Just tired."

He studied her for a moment, then sighed and got out of the vehicle, moving around to the passenger side to open her door. "Don't lie to me," he whispered, affixing her with a serious look, "You looked Thomas in the eye, talked to him, and shot him at close range. Talk to me, baby."

She shrugged, almost as if brushing off his concern. "It's nothing I can't handle. Really, I'm fine, I promise. I don't want you to worry about me."

"You _always _do that..." he said quietly, but pointedly. "You don't let me in and you tell me it's nothing when you're clearly shaken up. The more you tell me not to worry, the more I worry. I'm your _husband_, why can't you tell me what's bothering you?"

"It _doesn't _bother me," she insisted, "I've been doing this for years, I've learned to cope. I just don't like talking about it."

"You're lying – it does bother you. I can see it in your eyes. You're only human, Emily, you can only compartmentalize for so long. Please talk to me."

She shook her head softly, determinedly not crying. "Please, just let it go. I'm okay, I swear."

"You're not! You're not fine. Why won't you talk to me?" Morgan asked desperately, "Why won't you let me in? Did you know how worried I was watching you use yourself as bait? You could have died; I could have lost you for good – you and the twins! Why didn't you talk to me about it before you put yourself and my children in danger?"

"I didn't _plan _on doing that, it was just a spur of the moment decision," she explained, "It was our only option to catch him or more people were going to die. There wasn't time to debate it."

He shook his head, sighing heavily. "Were you thinking about the twins at that time?" he asked heavily, looking at her seriously. He couldn't help but feel his anger rising. "Did you ever think that if anything happened to you, I would lose everything that meant something to me in my life?"

"Of course I think about the twins!" she glared at him. "I wasn't exactly planning on putting myself in danger – I wasn't _trying_ to get into a situation with a gun pointed at me! Everything I do, I put the babies first!"

Morgan took a step back, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. He reached out to hold her hand, squeezing it gently, letting her know that he didn't mean to raise his voice. "I'm sorry," he said, slowly and calmly. "I'm not trying to pick a fight. I'm just really worried. I was terrified," he admitted, running a hand up and down her arm. "It was so hard to watch you stand right in front of Thomas – baiting him – knowing that he has a gun on him and one wrong move, I could lose my whole family, but there was nothing I could about it."

Her expression softened, her heart going all out to him. "I love you _so_ much, Emily. I don't ever want to see you so close to an unsub again. Please don't use yourself as bait again. I don't want to lose you, baby. I need you."

"I know," she murmured, her tone gentler. "But you know it's the job – you do it all the time, you did it with Flynn. I have to do what the job requires..."

"I know," he echoed quietly, "But I'm just worried. You're clearly shaken up and you won't talk to me. You keep pretending that everything is fine, but deep inside, you know that you're really not. It's okay to be afraid and upset. No one can blame you if you're upset and affected, baby." He gently kissed her forehead. "_Please_ talk to me. If you can't do it for you, then do it for me. I feel better when you talk to me."

"Please...don't do this," she said again, pleading, less composed than before. "Don't make me relive it. I don't want to..."

He cupped her cheeks, kissing her gently. "I'm here for you. You won't have to go through it alone. Keeping it all inside you is not good for you or the babies. One day, the dam will break, and you won't be able to hold it all in anymore. Don't let it come to that – let me in. I'm here for you."

She sniffled. "I _can't_. I have to hold it in – for them," she whispered, resting a hand on her slight baby bump. "If I don't think about it, if I lock it away, I don't worry, don't stress...and I keep them safe. I can't put them through that. I know it doesn't make any sense, but..."

He cut her off, murmuring, "No, that's not true. They wouldn't want Mommy to do that. You can't keep pretending that it doesn't affect you. You don't want our babies to be like you, locking everything away and pretending that it's alright. Mommy needs to set an example for them."

"I don't know how to do this... I'm afraid to be weak, I'm afraid of what happens if I start turning over those rocks," she admitted, looking up at him with tear-filled eyes.

"That's what I'm here for, baby. I'll be here with you every step of the way," he assured, wrapping his arms tightly around her. "You're not weak for doing this, you're amazing and a great mother for doing this for our babies."

She nodded, sniffling softly again, then resting her chin on his shoulder. "I love you. I'm sorry I did something so stupid and risky...you must have been terrified."

"I love you too, Em. And I'm sorry, too – I finally know what it's like to be in your shoes."

She just held him tightly for a few moments, the occasional silent tear trickling down her cheek to land on him, soaking his shirt. She nuzzled his neck, kissing his pulse point apologetically. "We should tell Hotch tonight," she whispered after a long moment.

"About us? Tonight?" he asked quietly, dropping a kiss on the crown of her head. "You think we're ready for that?"

"We don't have a choice," she murmured softly against his chest. "Things like this are going to keep happening and it won't end so positively every time. He needs to know so we can be safe. We need to do this for the twins. I don't want to put them in danger again."

He nodded, agreeing. "You're right – we have to do it for the twins. Hotch will be mad at us..."

"Yeah," Emily said quietly, biting her lip. "It won't be pretty. He's going to be furious...not that we can really blame him, considering how long it's been. We're going to be dropping a few _huge_ bombshells on him."

"We should tell rest of the team too. I don't want them to hear it through the grapevine," he added, stroking her hair. "We could tell them on the jet later."

"I don't know," she hesitated. "I don't know if it's such a good idea to tell them all at once – shouldn't we talk to Hotch first? And then we'd have to sit through the rest of the plane ride with them upset at us..."

"We'll talk to Hotch first, then we tell the team later," he agreed, smiling softly. "Maybe after we land, we can go out to dinner with the team. It's your birthday, remember? We should celebrate."

She sighed quietly, muttering under her breath, "Possibly losing our jobs doesn't sound like something to celebrate about." She forced a small smile and nodded, "Sounds like a plan."

"I heard you," he murmured, cupping her cheeks and kissing her softly. "It's going to be fine. He'll understand...with time. Besides, I told you, I'm happy to be a stay-at-home dad to let you keep your job. I don't care what Strauss says, as long as you're happy, I am."


	2. Chapter 2

It was one of those rare evenings where the team gathered together for dinner after coming home from a case. Everyone at the table were relaxed and smiling, the conversations were easy and comfortable. Morgan smiled as he watched Garcia tease Reid about the waitress who seemed interested in him when they first entered the restaurant.

He gently squeezed Emily's hand under the table, grinning brightly when they saw a familiar blonde join them at the table.

"JJ!" Emily trilled happily as the blonde slid into the seat next to her. "I didn't know you were coming..."

JJ smiled warmly and said, "You have Miss 'I have the skills to ruin your credit rating and I'm not afraid to use them if you don't show up...' to thank for that," while she glared pointedly at Garcia who smiled sheepishly. She leaned in and gave Emily a hug, wishing her a happy birthday.

JJ's presence at the table added a little brightness that had been missing from their days. No one said anything since she had left, but deep down, they all missed her – it was just easier to lock it away and move on, knowing there was nothing they could do about it."Nice to see you, Jayje. How's the Pentagon treating you?" Morgan asked.

She simply smiled and shrugged. "It's okay. I'm still trying to get used to the new environment and the people there, but it's coming together. Mostly, I just miss you guys a lot. It's not the same without you around." Looking around the table, she raised her brows. "Where's Hotch?"

Everyone looks questioningly at each other, shrugging; no one ever really bothered to question Hotch's lack of appearance at team gatherings anymore. It was Garcia that eventually spoke up, "I don't know, but wherever it is, I'm glad I'm not there... He looked seriously pissed off when I passed him on my way out."

Morgan shared a significant look with Emily, knowing exactly what it was that had left Hotch in such a sour mood. Luckily, everyone else seemed too pre-occupied to notice as the waiter arrived with the bottle of champagne that Rossi had ordered.

After inspecting the bottle and nodding the waiter away, Rossi addressed the questioning look Emily shot his way. "What?" he asked with a sheepish grin. "You only turn – how old are you? Fifty-seven? – once..."

Garcia laughed, "Cheers to that."

Emily merely rolled her eyes, not finding it as funny. Giving a tight smile, she held up a hand in refusal as Rossi offered her a glass. "Thanks, guys, but I think I'll stick with water tonight."

Once again, questioning looks were directed about the table. "Come on, Em," Garcia attempted to persuade her, "It's your birthday – let loose, live a little. You can drink until you forget how old you are..."

"No, really," she insisted, "None for me tonight."

With a steadying breath and a look of confirmation from Emily, Morgan knew that now was as good a time as any. "Guys, we have something to tell you..."

Blood rushing past her ears as if she'd just run a mile, her heart hammering vociferously, Emily lifted their still tightly clasped hands out from under the table to rest in plain sight, saying nothing for several moments to allow everyone to absorb the significance. "We've sort of been seeing each other..." she said slowly and awkwardly, "...for about the last five years."

There was a long protracted period of silence in which the silence seemed to become heavy, laden with shock. Finally, JJ said what everyone was no doubt thinking, "Five years? But that would mean..."

"Pretty much since I joined the team," Emily nodded, finishing her train of thought in confirmation.

"There's more..." Morgan murmured quietly.

"_More_?" the usually perky tech goddess asked incredulously, looking at the couple pointedly. "How much more could there possibly be? You just dropped a bomb on us, saying you've been dating for the past five years and there's _more_?" She look at them, upset and confused. "Why didn't you tell us this sooner?" she asked, "How hard is it to say, 'Hey, Emily and I are seeing each other and we're happy.'? I thought we're a family..." she whispered quietly.

"We _are_ a family," Emily insisted desperately, determinedly telling herself not to burst into tears in front of the team. "But we weren't ready to tell anyone at first – we didn't even know if it was going to become anything serious, so there was no sense risking our jobs over nothing. And then when we were realizing that it was serious, things like Gideon leaving and the Reaper just kept overshadowing the truth. It's not that we didn't trust you guys, we just had a lot on the line..."

Morgan nodded, needing everyone to see that they didn't mean to keep it a secret for so long. "We wanted to tell you. We didn't like hiding our secret from you, but we had no choice. It's a big thing for us and we wanted to tell you at the right time. We tried to find a chance to tell you, but something more important always came up."

The team looked at them with varying degrees of shock, betrayal, and hurt. Rossi shook his head in disbelief. "I don't believe this."

"I know it's a lot for you to take in right now, but we have something else to tell you. Just let me finish, okay?" Morgan said quietly, sharing a look with Emily and gently squeezing her hand. "We're telling you about us now because we can't hide it any longer. Emily and I have been married for a little over a year and now, she's pregnant..."

If the previous silence had been awkward, this one was nothing short of excruciating. The longer no one said anything, the more Emily's expression fell; it felt a little like waiting for a bomb to go off, knowing that their friends' response was not going to be a good one.

"That was probably why Hotch was so angry when we left," she added quietly when the silence became too much. "We just told him the news too."

"Well, no wonder he's so pissed!" Garcia snapped and Emily winced a little in response – no one had ever seen her so upset. "How could you not tell us something so important going on in your lives? That you were ready to get married, trying to have kids...did you think we wouldn't be happy for you! You talked about JJ keeping her relationship with Will a secret for a year when you were doing the exact same thing...say what you want, but that's not something a family does."

Emily bit her lip, fighting for control, determined not to shed a tear in front of everyone. Morgan watched helplessly when his wife quickly excused herself to leave for the bathroom, knowing that she was going to cry behind closed doors.

He sighed heavily and turned to look at the team. "Look, I know you're mad and you have every right to be, but don't yell at her. She's pregnant and the hormones are giving her a hard time, she doesn't need this from you. If you want someone to yell at, yell at me, but leave her out of it," he said slowly, keeping his voice calm and even – getting into a fight was the last thing he needed. He quickly took off for the bathroom in search of his wife once he'd said his piece.

After taking several minutes to collect herself and attempt to hide some of the redness in her eyes, Emily emerged from the bathroom to find Morgan waiting outside the door. She immediately fell into his arms, breathing in his comforting scent. "How bad is it?" she whispered.

"I'm sorry, baby..." he replied quietly, stroking her back. "Don't worry about them, okay? You just worry about our babies. How are they? Are they upset?"

"They don't like the yelling... Maybe we should just go home, wait for everyone to cool off a little before trying to talk again," she suggested.

"Alright, let's go home." He kissed her forehead. "I'm sorry I ruined your birthday party. I shouldn't have insisted on telling them tonight."

She shook her head. "No, you were right, it's better this way. I didn't really feel much like celebrating tonight anyway. She kissed him gently, sighing sadly.

They returned to the table, hand in hand, to tell everyone that they were leaving. "Guys, I'm sorry – Emily isn't feeling too well, we're leaving. We'll talk again, okay?"

Emily attempted an apologetic smile, but mostly, she just looked like a kicked puppy. "I'm sorry," she echoed quietly, stroking her baby bump, "The twins give me morning sickness at night." It was as good an excuse as any, and not entirely false.

There was another long pause in which Emily's expression became even more downtrodden when the goodbyes and good nights she had anticipated never came. She turned away, sniffling, wondering how something so wonderful could drive such a wedge between her and the best friends she'd ever known...

Reid was the one that eventually broke the silence with an incredulous repeat of, "_Twins_?"

"Yeah..." Emily confirmed, turning back. Gazing searchingly between the remaining occupants of the table, she remembered that they'd failed to mention that bit of information.

"You're having twins?" Garcia studied them carefully, "Two babies?"

"Yeah. We hadn't planned for twins, it just happened," Morgan replied, unable to hide the thrilled smile that always worked its way up whenever he thought about the babies. He unconsciously rested a protective hand on Emily's belly. "We should go. See you tomorrow; good to see you again, JJ."

As he gently lead Emily out of the restaurant, JJ shared a look with the others, then called out to them, "Wait, you guys."

The couple turned back – Emily with a hesitant and anxious look on her face while Morgan had a challenging glare, daring anyone to say something. Before they knew what was going on, they were engulfed in an unexpected bear hug. "I'm so happy for the two of you," JJ exclaimed, grinning, "Or should I say the _four_ of you."

"You are?" Morgan asked, clearly confused. He looked from JJ to the rest of team at the table as she ushered them back to their seats.

Then Garcia came out and wrapped them in another bear hug. "I'm sorry," she murmured, "I shouldn't have yelled. I'm really happy for you." She grinned, resting a hand on Emily's baby bump, "I'm going to be Aunt Penny again."

"Thanks," Morgan smiled, returning the hug. "What made you change your mind?"

Looking a little guilty, she said, "The look on Emily's face broke my heart. This is probably really big for you guys and we were being selfish; this isn't about us, it's about your growing family." She smiled genuinely, then glanced sheepishly at Rossi. "Besides, I remember what it's like to be freaked out by someone's reaction to an inter-team relationship." A round of laughter circled the table.

Morgan let out a sigh of relief, "Thanks guys." He shared another look with Emily and smiled softly when she seemed more relaxed. "Actually, we have Reid to thanks for all of this..." he grinned, looking at the young genius who now looked confused.

"Me?" he asked, looking at the couple incredulously, "Why me? What did I do?"

The couple grinned when they saw that the rest of the team had the same look that Reid had on their faces. "Kid, remember when you talked to me on the jet, back when Emily showed up with a book and you tried to get me to go out with her? Then you went behind my back and talked to her after we landed?"

"Oh...right," he said slowly, then his eyes widened, "That's why you started going out?" They nodded, smiling gently. He sighed dramatically. "I'm responsible for the two of you getting married and having kids, but I can't even get myself a date!" Another round of laughter erupted at the table.


End file.
